The Hon. Antonine Maillet in 1984

Antonine Maillet, PC CC OQ ONB FRSC (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃tɔnin majɛ]; born May 10, 1929) is an Acadian novelist, playwright, and scholar. She was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick and lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Following high school, she received her BA from the Université de Moncton, followed by an MA from the same institution. She then received her PhD in literature in 1970 from the Université Laval. She taught literature and folklore at Laval, then in Montreal between 1971 to 1976. She later worked for Radio-Canada in Moncton as a script writer and host.

In 1976 she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 1981. Maillet was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Lorne Pierce Medal in 1980. In 1985 she was made an Officier des Arts et des Lettres de France and in 2005 she was inducted into the Order of New Brunswick. She is a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada.

In 1979 her work Pélagie-la-Charrette won the Prix Goncourt, making her the first non-European recipient.

In 1988, Antonine Maillet hosted the French-language Leaders' Debate for Radio-Canada TV between Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Liberal Party of Canada Leader John Turner, and New Democratic Party leader Ed Broadbent.

From 1989 to 2000, she served as chancellor of the Université de Moncton.

Works[link]

• Pointe-aux-Coques - 1958
• On a mangé la dune - 1962
• Les Crasseux - 1968
• La Sagouine - 1971
• Rabelais et les traditions populaires en Acadie - 1971
• Don l'Orignal - 1972 (winner of the (1972 Governor General's Award for Fiction)
• Par derrière chez mon père - 1972
• Gapi et Sullivan - 1973
• Mariaagélas - 1973
• gapi - 1976
• La Veuve enragée - 1977
• Les Cordes-de-bois - 1977
• Le Bourgeois Gentleman - 1978
• Pélagie-la-Charrette - 1979 (winner of the Prix Goncourt)
• La Contrebandière - 1981
• Les Drolatiques, Horrifiques et Épouvantables Aventures de Panurge, ami de Pantagruel - 1981
• Crache à pic - 1984
• Garrochés en paradis - 1986
• Le Huitième Jour - 1986
• Margot la folle - 1987
• L'Oursiade - 1990
• William S. - 1991
• Les Confessions de Jeanne de Valois - 1992
• La Nuit des rois - 1993
• La Fontaine ou la Comédie des animaux - 1995
• Le Chemin Saint-Jacques - 1996
• L'Île-aux-Puces - 1996
• Chronique d'une sorcière de vent 1999
• Madame Perfecta - 2002

See also: List of French Canadian writers from outside Quebec, List of Quebec authors

External links[link]

• Antonine Maillet Profile at Government of Canada
• CBC Digital Archives – Antonine Maillet, Acadian Avenger
• La Sagouine, Acadian tourist attraction
• Antonine Maillet - The Possibilities Are Endless (Trailer), National Film Board of Canada

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John Ralston Saul CC
John Ralston Saul delivers a lecture at the University of Alberta on 17 November 2006
Born	(1947-06-19) 19 June 1947 (age 65) Ottawa, Ontario
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	Novelist, essayist

John Ralston Saul, CC (born June 19, 1947) is a Canadian author, essayist, and President of PEN International.

As an essayist, Saul is particularly known for his commentaries on the nature of individualism, citizenship and the public good; the failures of manager-, or more precisely technocrat-, led societies; the confusion between leadership and managerialism; military strategy, in particular irregular warfare; the role of freedom of speech and culture; and his critique of contemporary economic arguments.

Biography[link]

Born in Ottawa, Saul studied at McGill University in Montreal, Canada and at King's College London where he wrote his thesis on the modernization of France under Charles de Gaulle, and earned his Ph.D in 1972. After helping to set up the national oil company Petro-Canada in 1976, as Assistant to its first Chair, Maurice F. Strong, he published his first novel The Birds of Prey in 1977. Through the late 1970s and 1980s, he travelled regularly with guerrilla armies, spending a great deal of time in North Africa and South East Asia. Out of this time came his novels, The Field Trilogy. It was during those extended periods in Northwest Africa and Southeast Asia that he witnessed fellow writers there suffering government suppression of freedom of expression, which caused him to become interested in the work of PEN International[1]. In 2009 he was elected president of PEN International, only the second North American to hold the position since its creation in 1921, the other being Arthur Miller.

As a novelist[link]

The Birds of Prey, a political novel based in Gaullist France, was an international best seller. He then published The Field Trilogy, which deals with the crisis of modern power and its clash with the individual. It includes Baraka or The Lives, Fortunes and Sacred Honor of Anthony Smith, The Next Best Thing, and The Paradise Eater, which won the Premio Letterario Internazionale in Italy. De Si Bons Americains is a picaresque novel in which he observes the life of modern nouveaux riches Americans.

As an essayist[link]

[edit] Voltaire's Bastards, The Doubter's Companion and The Unconscious Civilization

His philosophical essays began with the trilogy made up of the bestseller Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West, the polemic philosophical dictionary The Doubter's Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense, and the book that grew out of his 1995 Massey Lectures, The Unconscious Civilization. The last won the 1996 Governor General's Award for Non-Fiction Literature.

These books deal with themes such as the dictatorship of reason unbalanced by other human qualities, how it can be used for any ends especially in a directionless state that rewards the pursuit of power for power's sake. He argues that this leads to deformations of thought such as ideology promoted as truth; the rational but anti-democratic structures of corporatism, by which he means the worship of small groups; and the use of language and expertise to mask a practical understanding of the harm this causes, and what else our society might do. He argues that the rise of individualism with no regard for the role of society has not created greater individual autonomy and self-determination, as was once hoped, but isolation and alienation. He calls for a pursuit of a more humanist ideal in which reason is balanced with other human mental capacities such as common sense, ethics, intuition, creativity, and memory, for the sake of the common good, and he discusses the importance of unfettered language and practical democracy.

[edit] Reflections of a Siamese Twin

He expanded on these themes as they relate to Canada and its history and culture in Reflections of a Siamese Twin. In this book, he coined the idea of Canada being a "soft" country, meaning not that the nation is weak, but that it has a flexible and complex identity, as opposed to the unyielding or monolithic identities of other states.

He argues that Canada's complex national identity is made up of the "triangular reality" of three nations that compose it: First Peoples, francophones, and anglophones. He emphasizes the willingness of these Canadian nations to compromise with one another, as opposed to resorting to open confrontations. In the same vein, he criticizes both those in the Quebec separatist Montreal School for emphasizing the conflicts in Canadian history and the Orange Order and the Clear Grits traditionally seeking clear definitions of Canadian-ness and loyalty.

[edit] On Equilibrium

Saul's next book, On Equilibrium (2001), is effectively the conclusion to his philosophical trilogy. He identifies six qualities as common to all people: common sense, ethics, imagination, intuition, memory, and reason. He describes how these inner forces can be used to balance each other, and what happens when they are unbalanced, for example in the case of a "Dictatorship of Reason".

[edit] The Collapse of Globalism

In an article written for Harper's magazine and published in the magazine's March 2004 issue under the title The Collapse of Globalism and the Rebirth of Nationalism, he argued that the globalist ideology was under attack by counter-movements. Saul rethought and developed this argument in The Collapse of Globalism and the Reinvention of the World (2005). Far from being an inevitable force, Saul argued that globalization is already breaking up into contradictory pieces and that citizens are reasserting their national interests in both positive and destructive ways. Following the economic collapse he had predicted, The Collapse of Globalism was re-issued in 2009 with a new epilogue that addressed the current crisis.

[edit] A Fair Country

A Fair Country (2008) is Saul's second major work on Canada. It is organized into four subsections.

"A Métis Civilization"

This section picks up on the argument that Saul makes in Reflections of a Siamese Twin about the 'triangular reality of Canada'. Drawing on the work of scholars like Harold Innis and Gerald Friesen,^[1] Saul argues that contemporary Canada has been deeply influenced and shaped by Aboriginal ideas and the experience of both Francophone and Anglophone immigrants over the 250 years, from 1600 on, during which Aboriginals were either the dominant force in Canada, or equal partners. He argues that Aboriginals are making a rapid “comeback”, and that their fundamental influence needs to be recognized in order for non-Aboriginal Canadians to understand themselves.

"Peace, Fairness, and Good Government"

In this section Saul argues that instead of the phrase "peace, order, and good government", which appears in and has become a touchstone of the 1867 Canadian Constitution, the phrase that dominated previous Canadian documents was "peace, welfare, and good government". Saul suggests that the ensuing emphasis on "order" has not truly represented Canadian origins.

"The Castrati"

This sections echoes Saul's more general critiques of technocratic and bureaucratic regimes. He also suggests that while current Canadian elites reflect a "disturbing mediocrity" this was not always the case.^[2]

"An Intentional Civilization"

Saul uses the final section of the book to argue for a return to an understanding of Canada as a unique response to particular historical circumstances.

[edit] Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin

Saul's contribution to Penguin Canada's Extraordinary Canadians series, of which he serves as General Editor, is a double biography of Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin. In it, he argues that Canada did not begin in 1867, but that in fact its foundations were laid by LaFontaine and Baldwin much earlier. The two leaders of Lower and Upper Canada, respectively, worked together after the 1841 Union to lead a reformist movement for responsible government run by elected citizens instead of a colonial governor. But it was during the "Great Ministry" of 1848—51 that the two politicians implemented laws that Saul argues created a more equitable country. They revamped judicial institutions, created a public education system, made bilingualism official, designed a network of public roads, began a public postal system, and reformed municipal governance. Faced with opposition, and even violence, Saul contends that the two men united behind a set of principles and programs that formed modern Canada.

Speaker[link]

In addition to his selection as the 1995 Massey lecturer, Saul has delivered other notable lectures. He gave the Harold Innis Lecture in 1994. In 2000 he gave the inaugural LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture. Saul delivered the J.D. Young Memorial Lecture “A New Era Of Irregular Warfare?” at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario on February 4, 2004.^[3] He gave the 2005 IDEAS lecture in Brisbane, Australia, the 2007 Captive Mind Lecture in Kraków, Poland, and in 2008 gave the 33rd Sir Winston Scott Memorial Lecture in Barbados. He also delivered the 2009 McGill Law Journal Annual Lecture at the McGill Faculty of Law in Montreal on February 3, 2009.^[4]

Activities[link]

John Ralston Saul is co-Chair of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, which encourages new Canadians to become active citizens.. He is Patron and former president of the Canadian Centre of PEN International. He is also Founder and Honorary Chair of French for the Future, which encourages bilingual French-English education, Chair of the Advisory Board for the LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium lecture series, and a Patron of Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN — a cutting edge organization tied to people with disabilities). A Companion in the Order of Canada (1999), he is also Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France (1996). His 14 honorary degrees range from McGill University and the University of Ottawa to Herzen University in Saint Petersburg, Russia. From 1999 until 2006 when his wife Adrienne Clarkson was Governor General of Canada he was Canada's vice-regal consort, during which he devoted much of his time to issues of freedom of expression, poverty, public education and bilingualism.

PEN International[link]

Saul was elected as the International President for a three year term at the PEN Annual Congress in Linz, Austria in October 2009. He campaigned on the need to pay attention to smaller and endangered languages and cultures, arguing that the ultimate removal of freedom of expression was the loss of a language. He put a specific emphasis on endangered indigenous languages. He called for a further decentralization of PEN, which has 144 centres in 102 countries. He argues that literature and freedom of expression are the same thing; that you cannot have one without the other. Saul has testified before the European Parliament Human Rights Commission on the loss of freedom of expression in Tunisia, has spoken before European Council on Refugees in Exile, and has published an essay on writers in exile, which has been translated into several languages.

Bibliography[link]

Fiction[link]

• The Birds of Prey (1977)
• Baraka (1983)
• The Next Best Thing (1986)
• The Paradise Eater (1988)
• De si bons Américains (1994)

Non-fiction[link]

• Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West (1992)
• The Doubter's Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense (1994)
• The Unconscious Civilization (1995)
• Le Citoyen dans un cul-de-sac?: Anatomie d'une société en crise (1996)
• Reflections of a Siamese Twin: Canada at the End of the Twentieth Century (1997)
• On Equilibrium: Six Qualities of the New Humanism (2001)
• The John W. Holmes Memorial Lecture (2004)
• The Collapse of Globalism and the Reinvention of the World (2005)
• Joseph Howe and the Battle for Freedom of Speech (2006)
• A Fair Country: Telling Truths About Canada (2008)
• Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin (2010)

Honours[link]

• Italy's Premio Letterario Internazionale, for The Paradise Eater (1990)
• Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres de France (1996)
• Gordon Montador Award, for The Unconscious Civilization (1996)
• Governor General's Literary Award for Non-fiction, for The Unconscious Civilization (1996)
• Gordon Montador Award, for Reflections of a Siamese Twin (1998)
• Companion of the Order of Canada (1999)
• Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002)
• Pablo Neruda International Presidential Medal of Honour (2004)
• Manhae Literary Prize (2010)

References[link]

1. ^ Friesen, Gerald. Citizens and Nation: An Essay on History, Communication, and Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000.
2. ^ Saul, John Ralston. A Fair Country: Telling Truths About Canada. Toronto: Viking, 2008 : 174
3. ^ His Excellency John Ralston Saul J.D. Young Memorial Lecture “A New Era Of Irregular Warfare?” Lecture Delivered To Faculty And Cadets Royal Military College Kingston, Ontario
4. ^ The McGill Law Journal Annual Lecture

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Ralston Saul

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: John Ralston Saul

• PEN International
• Institute for Canadian Citizenship
• Interview with Mother Jones, 9 November 2005
• John Ralston Saul's entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia

• Interview with Stuart Jeffries The prophet of anti-globalism, The Guardian, 9 June 2005
• Good governance as the Key to Gross National Happiness, keynote speech by John Ralston Saul at Rethinking Development (GNH2) in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, June 23, 2005.
• A review of Saul's book "The Doubter's Companion"
• Inaugural Joseph Howe Lecture, by John Ralston Saul at University of King's College School of Journalism, Halifax, Nova Scotia, March 20, 2004
• The Collapse of Globalism MP3, 11 June 2005
• Saul's Harper's Magazine Essay: The Collapse of Globalism March 2004 (index only, not full text)
• Interview with Scott London from the radio series "Insight and Outlook"
• Full text and streaming audio and another transcript of Citizenship vs the Reigning Linear Trap, a public lecture given at the University of South Australia, Adelaide, 29 August 1999
• Full text and streaming audio and another transcript of Globalisation and Democracy, a public lecture given at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, January 1999
• French for the Future / Le Français Pour L'Avenir
• The Annual LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium Lecture
• PEN Canada

Bernard LeBlanc is a politician in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 2006 election as the Liberal MLA for the new district of Memramcook-Lakeville-Dieppe.

He was appointed to cabinet on November 12, 2008.^[1]

On February 11, 2010, LeBlanc resigned from cabinet, amid allegations that an email he sent violated the privacy rights of a Fredericton-area woman by revealing private information about her.^[2]

References[link]

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